


good old fashioned lover boy

by Mars_and_Moon



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Freddie Mercury is pretty much a character in this, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, M/M, Queen (Band) - Freeform, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:06:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mars_and_Moon/pseuds/Mars_and_Moon
Summary: Several facts in regards to Klaus Hargreeves and the band Queen.





	good old fashioned lover boy

**FACT:**

Klaus Hargreeves is in love with Freddie Mercury, and he has been since he was twelve years old.

He remembered the day he had discovered Freddie--November 21st, 2001--vividly. In the rare free time they had gotten Five and Ben had chosen to sneak out.

( _“Stop calling it that Klaus,” Five had muttered. “Dad never said we couldn’t leave the house, just that we couldn’t be late for dinner.”_ )

Unfortunately they had only snuck out to the library; because they were boring like that. But anywhere was better than house, and there wouldn’t be that many ghosts in the library, because it’s a _library_ , which was a plus. 

So next thing you know the four--Five had brought Vanya, because Five did what he wanted--of them were walking to the library, and Five was going on about something about time travel, Ben got that look on his face he always did when any of them brought up powers, and Vanya had a similar face but was seemingly trying to pay attention to Five’s fast paced explanations. Klaus was ignoring all of them, because he didn't care about time travel. 

Klaus was just hoping nobody recognize them, that would spoil the few moments of freedom they had. 

They were passing by a TV store when something caught his eye. It was a band performing, he hadn’t heard them before. He paused for a second to see if they would say the bands name, because they were incredible. The lead singer was in sparkling leotard, which was also incredible because he looked amazing. 

The song ended, and the news reporter started talking: “Multiple tributes have shown up across the globe as today marks the tenth anniversary of Queen front-man Freddie Mercury’s death.” 

The reporters voice was somewhat nasally, but Klaus didn’t stop watching, pictures of the band kept showing up. Then something unexpected happened, a picture of Freddie Mercury with his arms holding another man, in kind of a romantic way, which Klaus thought was pretty cool. The reporter said something about the two of them being partners, which he also thought was pretty cool. 

Eventually, he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He took his eyes off the screen and saw Vanya smiling softly. 

“Ben noticed you weren’t with us, and I remembered seeing you stop in front of the TV’s,” she explained softly. Klaus turned a little further and saw an unimpressed Five and a relieved Ben next to her. 

Klaus smiled. “Sorry. But have you heard of this band? Queen? Apparently it’s the tenth year since their singer died, which is kind of sad because he seems like a cool guy!” Klaus was getting excited, but Five rolled his eyes and gestured forward as if to say _‘can we go now?’_ , which was rude, but not surprising.

But the four of them had started walking again, with Vanya or Ben looking back occasionally to make sure Klaus was still there. By the time they had gotten to the library, Klaus had formed an idea. Famous people usually had books written about them, so maybe Freddie Mercury had one about him. 

The other three had gone their own ways once they had entered the library. Klaus went searching for someone who might know if there were any books. He ended up at a desk with a lady in a yellow sweater behind it. 

She gave him a small smile. “Can I help you young man?” 

“I was wondering if you knew where I could find a book about someone?” He asked. She kind of reminded him of Mom; helpful and kind. 

“Well I can certainly try. Who is it?” 

“Freddie Mercury,” Klaus stated, he hoped he had remembered the name correctly. 

The lady was silent for a moment, before standing up. “I think I know where we can find one.” 

Klaus followed her, she didn’t say much as they walked. After some time she stopped walking, her eyes scanning across the bookshelf. She made a small _‘ah-ha’_ noise before grabbing a book and handing it to Klaus. 

He stared at the book. _Mercury and Me_. The same two men Klaus had seen on the news were on the cover, except the photo was different. One of them was holding a cat, which was adorable.

“Would you like to take it home?” She asked. Klaus smiled. 

Walking back home with a new library card, and the book tucked under his arm. Klaus was happy, it didn’t matter if he had trouble reading sometimes, he was going to finish the book. The nice lady had even given him some other names of books about the band, not just Freddie, which Klaus was excited to read. 

She had also let him take home a Queen tape, which he would most certainly be listening to the moment he got back to the house.

Maybe the library wasn’t that boring. 

**FACT:**

Klaus is stuck in 1968, during the Vietnam War, before Queen had been formed. The war itself was shitty, but Klaus was annoyed by the fact the he couldn’t belt a Queen song to break the tension. Or get drunk listening to them, because they were all the fucking bomb. No pun intended. 

He also couldn’t tell Dave about them, even though he knows Dave would think they’re amazing, not only because they were, but also because low-key repressed southern Dave would think it was insane watching Freddie Mercury strut around a stage in sparkly clothes and openly loving a man in the 80s.

But Klaus could digress. The two of them had the time to wait for Queen to form. And when they did, Klaus would gladly drag Dave to every single concert he could get tickets for. Mostly for himself. Because he could see _Freddie-fucking-Mercury_ live. 

It was that long until they formed. And Dave only had a few months left in his service, and after that the two of them would be back in the States with a farm, or an apartment, or something and Klaus could count down the days until Queen dropped their first record and he could annoy Dave by playing it over and over and over and over.

**FACT:**

Klaus gives zero fucks about the timeline. When Five had shown up, going on about timelines, and the future, and whatever else came out of that sarcastic mouth of his, Klaus tuned him out. 

Maybe that was a mistake, because now he had a very interested Dave looking at him, asking about the song he had been singing under his breath; which of course was a Queen song. Because what else would Klaus sing after getting drunk on stolen alcohol? Fall Out Boy? Unlikely. 

So, Dave was staring at him, asking about the song, and what was Klaus supposed to do? Lie to him? Fuck no.

So he told him. About the future. Because who _actually_ cares about the timeline? Dave had sat there, occasionally drinking from the bottle of whiskey they had grabbed, but he had listened quietly. 

When he finished, Dave smiled at him. “Not surprising, I mean with the ghosts, and the floating, and other shit.” And he then proceeded to launch into a ten minute explanation of how he would be counting down the days with Klaus now because Queen sounded fucking awesome--Dave’s own words--and yes they would most definitely be buying all of the records.

He didn’t bring up the ghosts, or Reginald, or the superhero thing. He sat there and talked about being excited Queen, and his sister, and about becoming a teacher. 

**FACT:**

Klaus Hargreeves hasn’t listened to a Queen song in two-hundred-and-seventy-two days. Because fuck Queen, fuck music, fuck time travel, fuck the apocalypse. Someone had once told Klaus you shouldn’t share your favorite thing with anyone, because you’d start to associate it with that person and if it ended badly you would be losing more than a person, he had called it bullshit and went on his merry way. 

Fuck that person. And fuck facts. Not only had Klaus lost the love of his life, but he had lost the one thing that had been almost constant in his life, because it _hurt_ listening to Queen. Now there were Dave’s smiles in the words, and laughter, and gunshots, and blood wrapped into the lyrics. Yes, Klaus knew all of they lyrics to most of their songs, and yes he shared them with Dave, and yes maybe that fucked up the timeline, but also maybe it didn’t because Dave was _dead_ , so it’s not like he could tell anyone about Queen. 

He couldn’t even drink away his sorrows, or find some random person to sleep with because he was being responsible, and making sure Ben doesn’t die again because he came back to life royally fucked up. And it’s not like NA meetings helped with the cravings or the ghosts or the fact the Klaus couldn’t sleep because he saw Dave dying in his arms everytime he closed his eyes. 

What would he normally do in a situation like this? One where his life is slowly crumbling around? Where there is no apocalypse but all of them are so messed up by Reginald there might have been one? Listen to his favorite band, high or not, as long as Freddie’s voice was somewhere in the background Klaus would be okay.

But he can’t do that.

So Klaus said fuck sobriety, it’s not like anyone will notice because the one person who did now pours vodka into his tea every morning and whiskey into his afternoon orange juice. 

Klaus said fuck sobriety and walked into the closest bar he could find, the weight of his one hundred days sober chip felt like a brick in his pocket, but he walked in and ordered three shots of the strongest liquor he could get. He sat at the bar and didn’t drink them. 

He had walked in on a karaoke night apparently, people kept going up and butchering songs. Klaus hated karaoke. 

Okay, that’s a lie, Klaus loved karaoke. But he was finding it really hard to enjoy anything around him when a voice in his head that sounded like Reginald was calling him a disappointment, and another voice that sounded like Dave was telling him he was stronger then this. 

Lord, Klaus was worst to himself then the ghosts were to him.

**FACT:**

Klaus is currently flipping through a book of song choices and managed to find a Queen song. His shots were still on the bar, untouched. And maybe he was prouder of himself for that then he should be, even if the bartender kept giving him dirty looks for not drinking his order. 

He didn’t actually intend on singing something but he was bored--and maybe he didn’t actually want to throw away his sobriety? At least not without a bang, and sitting in this shitty bar was not a bang. 

A certain song in the book catches his eye. One that he knows off by heart. He picks it and it’s placed in the machine, and he sits and waits for his turn. When he finally gets called up he gave a small smile to the crowd and says, just before the music turns on: “This is for Dave, you truly are the love of my life.” 

**FACT:**

If Klaus leaves the bar that night crying and sober, that’s nobody's business but his own. And if he also goes to the closest NA meeting he find before going home, well, maybe that’s for the best.


End file.
